Mortgage Broker Marketing: Successful Events

These 10 tips will help you host an event that’ll make your business boom!

In order to thrive as a mortgage broker, you’re going to have to market yourself. One of the best ways to do this is through hosting events. Whether it’s a small-scale luncheon or a larger charity event, engaging with potential clients and building your brand is the name of the game. Sounds good, but how do I host an event that gets people talking? Well, my friend, you’ve come to the right place. Hosting events isn’t easy. It takes a lot of planning and preparation, and even then things probably won’t go exactly how you planned. The good news is with these tips, you’ll be able to keep the unplanned inconveniences to a minimum and be well on your way to being the best mortgage broker around.

Hosting events isn’t easy. It takes a lot of planning and preparation, and even then things probably won’t go exactly how you planned.

1. set your target

Your very first step, before you even think about anything else, should be to clearly define who you’re going to target at your event. Once you figure this out, you’ll start to have a clearer picture of what exactly you’ll need to do in order to have a successful event in terms of format, content, prices, location, and other variables. Starting with your target audience in mind helps you to focus on specific goals and keeps you from overextending yourself trying to please multiple audiences.

2. what’s your purpose?

Now that you’ve got your target audience, it’s time to figure out why you’re hosting this event. Do you want to generate leads? Create awareness? Networking? Once you have a concrete purpose for your event it makes planning and preparing that much easier because you’ll know exactly what you want to get out of it. When you find your purpose, think about the best way to go about achieving it and you have your event.

3. be flexible

Remember, everything isn’t going to happen as you planned. You need to be flexible and be able to roll with the punches. You may have to compromise a little on your ideal location or the size of your event, but it will still be great. Just adapt and keep moving.

4. know your limitations

The goal here is to throw the best event possible, with possibly being the keyword. In order to do that, you have to be aware of what you can or cannot realistically do. Whether it’s a budget thing or struggles with timing, you have to know when you may be in over your head. Take a step back and look at everything you have going for you. If you have limited time, plan for a smaller function. Are you set on throwing a big event? Start planning months in advance. Dealing with a smaller budget? You may have to do more work yourself. You can figure it out, just be realistic.

5. it’s a money thing

One of the most important questions you’ll need to ask yourself when it comes to hosting an event is, How am I going to pay for this? Most events are funded by sponsorships, ticket sales, internal marketing budgets, or a combination of all three. If you’re planning a big event, you’ll need to estimate how much you think you can raise from each source. If it’s a smaller event, you may be able to front the cost yourself. It’s really up to you. Some people have found success in raising money for their events with crowdfunding campaigns. It’s an unconventional method, but if you have a good cause it’s worth a shot.

6. more planning

Details, details, details. You’ll want to be as specific as possible when you come up with your marketing plan so there are no surprises and you know exactly what you have to do in order to successfully market your event. Once you have an idea of what it will take, go above and beyond! You have to be tireless in your marketing efforts or you’ll be the only one who shows up.

7. why?

Why should anyone come to my event? A valid question, and a question you should ask yourself before you make any permanent decisions. Put yourself in your audience’s shoes and answer truthfully. If you’re having trouble coming up with good answers, create some. Educational content, a guest speaker, food. Whatever you think your target audience wants to get out of an event (within reason), give it to them.

You have to be tireless in your marketing efforts or you’ll be the only one who shows up.

8. promote, promote, and promote some more

These days, there is no shortage of ways to get a message out. Social media makes it easy to make your voice heard by a seemingly unlimited amount of people. When it comes to promoting your event, social media is the best (free) tool you have. Create a digital flyer that explains your event and the benefits and share it on all platforms. Create a promo video and post it on YouTube. Buy cheap advertising on social networks like Instagram and Facebook to expand your reach beyond your current network. Reach out to local bloggers in the same field as you and have them blog about your event to inform their followers.

There are so many ways to get your event the exposure it deserves, and that’s just online! Send press releases to local media outlets. You can even post flyers around town the old-fashioned way if you think you’ll be able to reach your audience. The key here is to promote your butt off, whichever way you decide to do it.

9. expect the unexpected

There’s always something, right? The trick is to not let that last-minute fire drill take you out of the game. Fix it, move on, and get ready to do your thing. You were expecting a few more people? No worries. Give the ones who came to the best darn event they’ve ever been to. Stay focused on the end goal and don’t let any minor inconveniences distract you.

10. stand and deliver

It’s your time to shine. You worked hard for this. You planned, you budgeted, you promoted like none other, and the day is finally here. Go out and kill it! If you’re planning on speaking, make sure you practice. Dress to impress, and remember that attitude is contagious. Lead by example and your guests will follow.

Brokers, do you have any foolproof event planning tips to share? Tell us about them on social media!